Often it is necessary to assess the cross-relationship of standards and their impact on a specific mission/program, especially during the formulation stage of a new program. To facilitate this assessment, a “Standards pyramid of hierarchy” was developed to aid in the determination of individual standard’s impact on missions. The purpose of this tool is to help look “across” all of the standards and assess their impact on a mission’s success related to loss of crew, loss of mission, and loss of individual mission objectives. The pyramid also categorizes standards that increase the probability of achieving mission objectives. This hierarchy has been used in determining the applicability of standards for programs during the formulation stage of development.
